How to make money with Pinterest for beginners

Many companies use Pinterest to indirectly promote their products or services. In fact, Pinterest is not just a social media platform, but the opportunities it offers go far beyond the one briefly described above.

Pinterest offers opportunities to make money directly through its platform, you just need to know how to do it and where to start. Pinterest actually allows you to increase your income by using the web, and so here is a guide that explains what to do and how, step by step, to start earning with Pinterest .

How Pinterest works

Let’s first try to give a general overview, and start from what Pinterest is and how it works . It is a social platform which, however, does not pay pinners like YouTube pays some of its content creators who upload videos. The way it works is a little different.

Pinterest allows users to create pins, which are usually images or videos with links to external sites. So, if you can take advantage of these links, you can learn how to make money on Pinterest .

Before you start cashing in, you clearly need a bit of planning. First of all you can’t use your personal account, but you have to create a business one. So first consider how you want to direct other pinners to your site or another destination that allows you to earn money.

Once this is done, all you have to do is follow the steps that we will try to illustrate in detail below. Here are 8 ways to earn money using your Pinterest account.

1. Become a Pinterest virtual assistant

This is one of the things you can try to make money with Pinterest . If you become a Pinterest virtual assistant you will be tasked with managing other users’ accounts on their behalf. You can create pins, promote them and schedule content for brands.

If you want to earn money as a Pinterest Virtual Assistant (VA), create your own account to test your skills. So start marketing your services on your website or contact your favorite brands to offer them your services.

2. Insert affiliate links in your Pins

Pinterest affiliate marketing involves creating pins that include an affiliate link to relevant products or services.

When another user clicks on that link through your pin, they will be directed to a website where they can make purchases. Every time they make a purchase through this system you earn a commission on each completed sale .

Sign up as an affiliate with your favorite brands and insert affiliate links into the content best suited to your audience.

3. Become a partner of winning brands

Another way to make money with Pinterest is to collaborate directly with winning brands to promote their products or services through purchase idea pins.

This is a strategy that generally requires that you already have a good number of followers and traffic on your pins. It is therefore an option that is not exactly within everyone’s reach, or in any case it may take some time to invest in increasing the popularity of your profile on Pinterest , before you can follow this path to make money through this social media.

In this case, however, it is about monetizing by creating fees that you will charge brands for individual pins and other content that you will publish specifically on your Pinterest page.

4. Offer Pinterest consulting services

To make money with Pinterest by offering consultancy , you need a good amount of experience in creating your Pinterest strategy. Only in this case can you also consider the path of Pinterest consultancy to other brands.

First of all you have to demonstrate your ability to promote your website using the search engine, and then you can help other Pinterest users in finding ways to earn money with their profile.

5. Drive traffic to your e-commerce site

This is definitely a good way to make money on Pinterest , but only if you have physical products to sell .

All you have to do is create pins that include photos and links to your products . So your pins can increase brand visibility and bring more shoppers to your e-commerce site to make purchases.

6. Drive Pinterest traffic to your blog

Just as with an e-commerce site, it is possible to use Pinterest to drive traffic to a blog . In fact, bloggers can divert Pinterest traffic to their blog, and this will lead to an increase in revenue for the blog if you use sponsored posts or affiliate links to monetize your site.

The more visitors you bring through Pinterest, the better your chances of running a successful and profitable blog.

7. Sell Pinterest templates

Many Pinterest users rely on the site to drive traffic to their online content or products. And there are certain types of images and design elements that are more likely to work and produce the desired results.

For example, there are many eye-catching pins that include an image with text on it. Your templates can include the basic format of these images. Your customers can then purchase them and simply insert their own images or captions and titles of their choice.

8. Teach Pinterest marketing

If you are a Pinterest professional you also have this option among those available to you. In fact, you have the opportunity to earn with Pinterest by teaching your strategies to other online business owners in exchange for a fee that you establish.

Through your website you can offer an online course with various modules, and you could even broaden the audience by including content for other social media platforms or marketing strategies .

All the steps to start earning with Pinterest

The first step to take to start earning with Pinterest is to choose one of the paths we have proposed, or perhaps choose an option that we have not even mentioned, but once you have made this choice you are only at the beginning.

The next step is to start creating consistent content and marketing your pins regularly. So here are some tips that can help you reach a wider audience and therefore earn more.

Find your niche

First we recommend finding your niche. In fact, a targeted Pinterest account is more likely to have a targeted following. For example, you could focus on content related to DIY, fashion or home decorations.

Another thing to do, once you’ve found your niche, is to do some keyword research to find the most relevant terms to include.

Complete your Pinterest profile

When you create a business account on Pinterest you need to choose a name , description and links .

The links should include relevant keywords and help you attract targeted visitors, i.e. those who are truly interested in what you offer.

For example, a beginner blogger could insert his own way of understanding the blog within the description of the blog itself, and in this way attract people who have the same vision of things, or in any case a vision compatible with the proposed contents.

Improve the SEO aspect of Pinterest

Don’t forget that Pinterest users often find content through search engines like Google , not just from Pinterest’s search bar .

It is therefore a good idea to include relevant keywords in your profile and in the description of each pin. To find ideas, try starting from the most popular contents that are part of the niche you have chosen.

Research your target audience

Your target audience can impact how you promote your content to Pinterest users .

For example, you can customize content for professional bloggers, stay-at-home moms, or new homeowners. Take a good look at the niche your blog is aimed at and the demographics of your current customers to narrow the field and offer targeted content.

Increase your followers on Pinterest

Using Pinterest isn’t like using any other social platform where you rely on followers alone to drive traffic. However, the higher the number of followers you have, the more likely people are to find your content.

Then increase your followers on Pinterest by interacting with other users and connecting people to your profile.

Join group message boards

Pinterest also offers group boards where multiple Pinterest accounts can upload content. Many of these have many followers due to the consistency of the content shown.

Join some group boards that share content that belongs in your niche to increase your visibility.

Sign up for an affiliate program

Another fundamental step to start earning with Pinterest is signing up for an affiliate program . You will then need your unique affiliate link , which is what allows you to track visitors who have reached the site thanks to your content.

Sites like Amazon , RewardStyle , and ShareASale welcome all online influencers to share their referral link on pins.

How many followers do you need to make money with Pinterest?

If you are thinking that it is only possible to make money with Pinterest when you have millions of followers, you are actually wrong.

You don’t need a million followers to make money with Pinterest , in fact anyone who includes affiliate links in their pins or offers products on their website can make money online using the strategies we’ve talked about so far.

Naturally, however, the earnings also vary based on the number of your followers and the level of engagement. It’s clear that Pinterest profiles that have a few thousand followers are more likely to earn revenue through affiliate programs, or have what it takes to form partnerships with major brands .